AI System (legal definition)
Under the EU AI Act: a machine-based system that operates with some autonomy and infers outputs from inputs.
Article 3(1) defines an AI system as machine-based, designed to operate with varying levels of autonomy, possibly adaptive after deployment, which infers from its inputs how to generate outputs such as predictions, content, recommendations, or decisions that can influence environments. The definition is deliberately technology-neutral, and ‘infers’ is the operative word — it is what separates an AI system from ordinary software. The Commission issued guidelines in February 2025 to help draw that line.
In practice: A rules engine written by hand is likely out of scope; a trained scoring model is in.
Plain-English summary of Article 3(1). The binding text is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689.
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